Six years after the university cut for teams, athletes, parents, and alumni are still living with the aftermath. Some have found closure. Others are still trying to understand what was lost. 

This episode looks at where those affected are now, and how the decisions made in 2020 continue to shape their sense of belonging, their connection to Iowa, and what the future of college athletics might hold. 

Producer: Megan Klein

Assoc. Producer: AJ Reisetter

Host: Savannah Nguyen

Editor: Camryn Warn

Discontinued: The Decision That Changed Iowa Athletics

As the pandemic shut down college athletics in 2020, the University of Iowa decided to cut four varsity sports programs, irrevocably changing the lives of dozens of student-athletes. For athletes at any level, their sport is not just what they do — it’s who they are. For college athletes, that connection is inseparable from school pride.

Through interviews with athletes, coaches, attorneys, and journalists, Discontinued explores the fallout of the cuts, from the Title IX lawsuit that challenged it to the lasting questions about belonging and who universities consider expendable. What happens to someone’s sense of self when the sport they’ve committed to since childhood is suddenly taken away?

As the impact of the cuts deepens, some athletes refuse to accept the decision quietly. 

This episode follows swimmer Sage Ohlensehlen and the attorneys behind the Title IX lawsuit that challenged Iowa’s decision, while also tracing Kareem Allaf’s role in the effort to save men’s tennis. As the fight unfolds — in courtrooms and beyond — athletes begin to push back against an institution that has already moved on. 

Producer: Claire O'Donnell

Assoc. Producers: Lily Kopp, Kellen Rife

Host: Brendan Schnoebelen

Editor: John Murphy

Discontinued: The Decision That Changed Iowa Athletics

As the pandemic shut down college athletics in 2020, the University of Iowa decided to cut four varsity sports programs, irrevocably changing the lives of dozens of student-athletes. For athletes at any level, their sport is not just what they do — it’s who they are. For college athletes, that connection is inseparable from school pride.

Through interviews with athletes, coaches, attorneys, and journalists, Discontinued explores the fallout of the cuts, from the Title IX lawsuit that challenged it to the lasting questions about belonging and who universities consider expendable. What happens to someone’s sense of self when the sport they’ve committed to since childhood is suddenly taken away?

As the season unfolds, athletes are left to compete in an atmosphere of empty stands and the knowledge that it will be their last as Hawkeyes. This episode explores the emotional toll following the university's decision to eliminate four athletic programs, tracing the shift from the initial shock of the announcement to the resilience of athletes competing through the final weeks of their careers — sometimes fueled by resentment toward their own institution.

Producer: Emily Nyberg

Assoc. Producers: Delaney Spizzirri, Isabelle Woody

Host: Devin Kearney

Editor: Ciceli Lawson

Discontinued: The Decision That Changed Iowa Athletics

As the pandemic shut down college athletics in 2020, the University of Iowa decided to cut four varsity sports programs, irrevocably changing the lives of dozens of student-athletes. For athletes at any level, their sport is not just what they do — it’s who they are. For college athletes, that connection is inseparable from school pride.

Through interviews with athletes, coaches, attorneys, and journalists, Discontinued explores the fallout of the cuts, from the Title IX lawsuit that challenged it to the lasting questions about belonging and who universities consider expendable. What happens to someone’s sense of self when the sport they’ve committed to since childhood is suddenly taken away?

When athletes and coaches from four University of Iowa programs are called into a meeting at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, they expect a routine update. What unfolds leaves some angry, others disillusioned.  This episode reconstructs that moment — from the financial pressures behind the decision to the shock and uncertainty that follow. As the reality sets in, athletes are forced to confront what it means to lose not just their sport, but a core part of who they are. 

Producer: Jayce Bertrand

Host & Assoc. Producer: Lance Peterson

Editor: Alayna Larson

Assoc. Producer: Payton Martinez

Discontinued: The Decision That Changed Iowa Athletics

As the pandemic shut down college athletics in 2020, the University of Iowa decided to cut four varsity sports programs, irrevocably changing the lives of dozens of student-athletes. For athletes at any level, their sport is not just what they do — it’s who they are. For college athletes, that connection is inseparable from school pride.

Through interviews with athletes, coaches, attorneys, and journalists, Discontinued explores the fallout of the cuts, from the Title IX lawsuit that challenged it to the lasting questions about belonging and who universities consider expendable. What happens to someone’s sense of self when the sport they’ve committed to since childhood is suddenly taken away?

From the Vietnam War protests to today, the University of Iowa has served as a space for civic engagement and freedom of expression. The children of former UI president Sandy Boyd reflect on the legacy of the Vietnam protests, while current graduate student Clara Reynen shares her experiences with student activism. The final episode of “A Campus in Conflict” explores the nuanced parallels between the past and present, while tying in the current threats to freedom of expression.

Producer: Brady Behrend

Host: Abby Feldmann

Editor: Megan Smith

Associate Producers: Grace Hecox, Oliver Sewart

With student resistance rising, University President William “Sandy” Boyd faces difficult decisions about how to conclude the school year safely. Meanwhile, ROTC student Richard Tyner grapples with how to handle the upcoming Governor’s Day celebration and the potential threat of clashes between students and military troops on campus, and former members of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) discuss their efforts to protest the university’s involvement in the war. Host James McCurtis explores the inner conflicts and uncertainties that loomed over the campus as the spring semester came to a close.

Producer: Cassidy Safris

Host: James McCurtis

Editor: Grace Westergaard

Associate Producers: Sydney Libert, Dawson Moore

In May 1970, as protests erupted across the University of Iowa in response to the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings, a team of student journalists found themselves on the front lines. Not as activists, but as documentarians. In this episode, we hear from students who covered those tense days with a pen, not a picket sign. What happens when a student journalist is forced to choose between objectivity and empathy? And what did they risk to preserve the truth?

Producer: Aidan Wirtz

Host: Grace Katzer

Editor: Shaely O'Dean

Associate Producers: Gavin Lemke, Kayla Buehring

As the Vietnam War escalated, tension built on the University of Iowa campus. College students were reaching the age where, if the war didn’t end soon, even a draft deferment might not save them from the horrors of Vietnam. In this episode, historians and former students reflect on the early sparks of protest and how fear, frustration, and hope ignited a fire that would challenge the status quo.

Producer: Rose Grau

Host: Maddy Hellwig

Editor: Abbie McLaren

Associate Producers: Brian Allen, Karina Navarro

Spoilers ahead. Josephine Geiger-Lee and Marshawn Gunn take on Scott Beck and Bryan Woods in an interview about their most recent film HERETIC. The directors reminisce about their process of making the film, their relationship with control, and their use of it to instill discomfort in viewers.

Producer: Ben Brown

Editor: Cassidy Safris

Creative: Chloe O'Shea

Spoilers ahead. SJMC Films hosts Emily Delgado and Carson Hartzog are joined by Beck and Woods (A QUIET PLACE) for a chat on their 2024 horror-thriller HERETIC. The directors touched on their upbringings in Iowa and such influences on their filmmaking and its themes.

Producer: Colin Votzmeyer

Editor: Brady Behrend

Creative: Delanie Jensen